Q: Two years ago, while walking to my car at our co-op’s parking lot, I slipped on the ice, fell and badly injured my shoulder. Now I received a letter from my lawyer where he refused to pursue the lawsuit because I fell on the “black ice.” What does it mean?
A: In your case, the phrase “black ice” means that the ice you slipped on was covered with mud, for example, and therefore invisible. Insurance companies often use this expression to protect themselves. The logic is quite simple — since the ice is invisible, nobody knew and could not have known that it was there at all, which means that nobody was responsible for cleaning it up and nobody would pay. This is effective and efficient protection. However, since you fell at the parking lot, your case is not lost. Answering the following questions can help you. Did a superintendent or another employee perform a regular routine parking lot cleaning? If so, did they create black ice by sweeping the dirt on the floor? If they failed to clean parking lot, then it would be the property owner’s fault a priori, because it’s his responsibility to make sure that the parking lot is cleaned regularly. Both statements need to be proven with the help of witness testimonies, photos, security camera records, checking previous tenants’ complaints, etc. If you succeed with that, the owner has to pay for your injury. Another option would be that a construction company that was, for example, repairing your building could have caused “black ice” by spilling cement on the floor. Anyway, to help you win the case a lot of research needs to be done. So far, we have more questions than answers.
